


Line of Fire

by JostenlovesMinyard



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Actor Neil Josten, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Actors, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bodyguard Andrew Minyard, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mentions of past child abuse, Partially Deaf Andrew Minyard, References to Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Stalking, The tiniest mention of drugs, mentions of other actors - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:15:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25767316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JostenlovesMinyard/pseuds/JostenlovesMinyard
Summary: Neil Josten is a famous actor. He’s sassy, talented, handsome and surprisingly clever. His most recent appearance in The film adaptation of ‘Simon Snow: Carry on’ Has everyone swooning over him.However, popularity has its downsides. For Neil, that means the life he put behind him keeps rearing its ugly head time and time again. His close friend and fellow actor, Kevin Day tells him he needs to get a bodyguard, Neil can’t really put it off anymore especially since a new problem has arisen: a stalker.When Neil meets Andrew Minyard he cannot see how he’s the agency’s top man. He’s 5”0, partially deaf and as sassy as Neil.Andrew proves he's more than willing to put his life on the line to save Neil and he’s damn good at it too. It becomes difficult when his feelings begin to grow for the very person he’s been sent to protect and he finds himself thinking with his heart instead of his head. Neil might not be so keen on seeing Andrew in the line of fire either.When the stalker situation grows even more dangerous, Andrew and Neil find themselves looking to each other for protection. But that puts them both in the line of fire.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 41
Kudos: 69





	1. Birds of a Feather

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I hope you like the opening chapter of my new multichapter fic!  
> Inspired by @kogiekog on instagram. They're doing a bodyguard text fic! It's so good check it out! This is gonna be a bit different but the idea was totally inspired by them!

Neil Josten turned on the TV in his apartment and immediately sighed. His face had been all over the news recently. A mixture of publicity and controversy. Currently, the news presenters were talking about his fantastic performance in his latest film appearance. Playing Simon Snow in the film Carry On was a dream come true for Neil. He loved the combination of drama, action and magic. Kevin Day played alongside him as Baz. Neil would have found it extremely awkward had it been anyone else but having known Kevin for over 10 years now, kissing him was easy, if not a little awkward at first. The newscasters began speaking on he and Kevin’s relationship and Neil rolled his eyes. 

“ _ Are the two close friends? Or are they secretly hiding a hot Hollywood romance? Paparazzi caught the two out together the other day.”  _

“Oh my fucking God! We were getting Coffee!” Neil shouted at the TV as if they could hear his outrage. He turned it off. They were constantly trying to throw relationships at him. Allison Reynolds played Agatha Wellbelove in the film. The two had become close and last week they’d been all over the news about an apparent affair they were having. Looks like this week was Kevin’s turn. He’d told the media countless times about his Demisexuality and none of them seemed to take any notice of it. Neil couldn’t decide if they were ignorant or they just didn’t care. He pulled his phone out to make a tweet.

_ ‘To the media: Hi, hello, hey, I dunno if any of you know but I’M DEMISEXUAL. ME AND KEVIN ARE FRIENDS! Just like I said with Allison last week. It’s none of your business anyway thank you, good bye :)’ _

Likes, retweets and replies flooded in from his supporting fans. However, one reply caught his eye. 

_ ‘Go back home Nathaniel.’ _

Neil blocked the account straight away. He didn’t need to be reminded of  _ that mess _ today. A sigh passed his lips and he screwed his eyes shut. Kevin would probably call him in an hour or so panicking about the news. He’d have to make sure to turn his phone off by then. He was on hiatus for a few months until he started on his next project, the apartment was quiet, apart from his cat King Fluffkins running about the place every now-and-then. The Light grey sofa where he sat was comfy enough to nap on, so that’s exactly what he decided on. A nap. It was lightly raining in New York that day and the sound of it hitting the big glass windows leading to his balcony, lulled him to sleep. 

  
He jolted awake when King came running in the room after one of his fluffy mouse toys. He felt rather groggy after taking the nap so made his way over to the coffee machine to make himself his favourite drink: a simple, black coffee. However, life was against him, he’d run out of coffee.  _ Damn it. Coffee shop it is.  
_ Neil was never one to admit he was famous. But due to the popularity of his recent film role, he tended to get flocked in public. Allison had taught him a few clever tricks to keep himself hidden. He walked into his en suite bathroom and found his brown contact lenses. He popped them in and brushed his bright auburn hair back before stuffing it into a black beanie. Lastly, he dabbed concealer on his cheeks and nose to mask his freckles. The perfect disguise. Heading out the door, he felt completely invisible. Even when he walked past posters of his own face on a huge billboard, nobody seemed to realise it was him. Granted, for Simon Snow, he’d had to dye his hair slightly lighter but Neil couldn’t see much difference. It was strange to see his face, looking down on New York. He never thought his fame would reach this high. If he still lived with his  _ ‘family’ _ , they wouldn’t have let it happen. But that was over now. He‘d moved on, but they hadn’t. His blood family believed they owned him. His success was their success. They got tied up with dangerous film studios.  _ Moriyama Film Studios, _ to cut a long story short, Neil had got the hell out of there as soon as he turned 18. Unfortunately, turning 18 didn’t deter his family. They were always popping up whether it be on the news, claiming Neil had betrayed them or via phone calls to Neil’s agent, Matthew Boyd. Matt always told them to shove their complaints up their ass which is exactly why Neil had chosen to have him as his agent. The Moriyama's treated the talents signed with them as numbers and property. They all signed contracts to swear themselves to the family run business for years at a time. Neil had refused to sign when the time came and he was so thankful he hadn’t. Legal battles were always going down with actors and actresses trying to get out of their contract. Nobody ever won. 

He reached the coffee shop which was perfectly quiet, ordered a black coffee and was out again within 5 minutes. The walk back was peaceful. The rain has stopped for now but dark clouds still threatened the city with a downpour. His phone buzzed, he pulled it out to reveal an incoming call from Kevin.  _ Fuck, I didn’t turn my phone off. _ Neil thought and let the call go to voicemail. His phone buzzed again after a few minutes, he sighed loudly and pulled his phone out ready to chew Kevin out for continuously calling him but the number on the screen was unknown. Neil should have known better than to answer it but he did anyway. He was in the mood for an argument.

**Hello?**

_ Ah, Nathaniel.  _

**If this is my family, I suggest you fuck off and leave me alone.**

_ Oh no, simply an admirer of your work. _

Neil froze. Had his number been leaked? He had a sneaking suspicion this man was not an admirer however. He continued to speak after a moments pause. 

**Well then you shouldn’t have my number. Goodbye.**

_ Apologies, Enjoy the rest of your day sir. I’m sure we’ll meet soon enough. _

**Whatever you say, creep. I suppose it was you who sent the tweet before?**

_ Just offering some friendly advice. _

**Well here’s some for you: Fuck off and stay away from me.**

  
  


Neil ended the call. He blocked the unknown number and walked back to his apartment quickly. Most people who knew how to do a quick google search would be able to find out Neil’s old name. He’d changed it to signal his separation from his family, but not a lot of people had the nerve to say it to his face. Neil shook it off as either a fan with too much time on their hands or his family trying to scare him. His phone rang again and he resisted the urge to throw it into the road.  _ Kevin. _

**Hello Kevin.**

_ Have you seen the news?! The nerve of some people! _

**I know Kevin, don’t stress, I have bigger things on my mind.**

_ Your family again? _

**No, some weird phone call from a guy claiming to be a fan.**

_ Neil, how many times do I have to tell you, you need a bodyguard.  _

**It was a phone call Kevin, don’t get your panties in a twist.**

_ Don’t be a fucking smart ass. I’m trying to help. _

**Yeah, I know, sorry. I’ll think about it.**

_ Good, talk to you soon? _

**Sure, bye.**

_ Bye Neil. _

He took the elevator up to his floor, opened his door and saw King bombing around the place. He smiled at him. He couldn’t see what he was playing with so he wandered closer to him.  
“What you got there dude?” Neil said as if he expected the grey cat to turn around and answer him in English. He reached the crazed cat and saw he was ripping up a long, jet black, Raven feather. Where the hell could he have got that from? Neil assumed it must have blown in when he let King out on the balcony that morning so he let him be. King was Neil’s pride and joy. He’d been feeling lonely living on his own and so Matt’s girlfriend, Dan Wilds, had suggested a cat. She worked at the local shelter and she’d introduced him to all the animals available. When Neil saw King with long, fluffy grey fur and emerald eyes, he fell in love. The shelter assumed he was about two years old so he still had plenty of kitten in his system. He helped with Neil’s nightmares and kept him entertained on quiet days like today. Luckily for him, Dan always cat-sat for him when he was out filming or going to obligatory parties.  He never enjoyed going to the after parties for opening nights and award ceremonies. It wasn’t his scene, being in the spotlight, mingling with hundreds of people. He was scrutinised for who he brought as his date. He’d take a different friend every time just to fuck with all the news reporters and paparazzi at the event. He struggled to get along with most of the other A-list celebrities but some were nice and down to earth. Neil got on with them the most. The others tended to stick their nose up at him as soon as they realised he had no idea who any of them were. Neil knew who every single one of them were but it was much funnier to watch them be astounded when he asked who they were. 

Matt came round that evening to share a takeaway with Neil. They sat on the couch watching the new season of Umbrella Academy.   
“How’s Dan?” Neil asked.  
“Yeah she’s great, busy at the shelter.”   
“She’s a great girl.”   
“She’s amazing. What about you? Got your eyes set on anyone?”   
“Pffff no.” Neil said and they both laughed. Neil’s love life was tragic but he couldn’t find the energy to care. His phone pinged.  
“Is it that creep you told me about? Do I need to activate my motherly instincts?” Matt said, deadly serious and Neil laughed at him.  
“No, not to sound like a huge celebrity but It’s Tom Holland.” He said nonchalantly.   
“WHAT?!” Matt screeched, “You have Tom Holland’s number?! Oh my God! What’s he saying?!”   
“Um, well we became friends at his premier a few months ago and now we just text every now and then.”   
“Yeah well what did he say?”   
“He said, ‘Hey man, coming to New York for filming soon. Wanna grab tea?’”  
“NEIL, I’M DYING.” Matt gasped at him again. Neil rolled his eyes.   
“Matt, I get texts like this all the time.”   
“Yeah but it’s Spider-man!”   
“I don’t think he’s really Spider-man.”   
“Uh, I’m pretty sure he is.” Matt said and Neil laughed at him. Neil texted back a quick ‘Yeah sure’ and then turned back to Matt who looked like he had just found out the world wasn’t actually round. He laughed at him again before turning his concentration back to the TV. The evening was just what Neil needed. Matt always kept him entertained.  
“Got any tea in your cabinets?”   
“Tea? Yeah, but no coffee.”   
“Ok I’ll make us a cup.” Matt said and wandered over to the kitchen. He bent down and picked something up off the floor. Neil watched him.  
“What?”   
“It’s...a feather?” Matt said, confused.  
“What…? Oh, yeah King was playing with it earlier. No idea where it came from though. ” Neil said, frowning. Matt thought for a second and then clicked his fingers.  
"Nicky was round doing suit alterations yesterday, right?"  
"Well, yeah?"  
"I guarantee it will have fallen out from his bag."  
"Huh, good call actually, I thought he must have brought it in from outside but it seemed unlikely I didn't see him do it."  
"Yeah, probably Nicky." Matt said and laughed. Neil nodded, Nicky had definitely had other clients to visit that day, the feather had probably fallen out from there.  
Matt continued making the tea and they sat chatting until Matt decided he needed to head home. He let himself out and Neil wandered over to the door after he’d left and locked it. King joined him when he sat back on the sofa and he curled up on Neil’s lap purring softly.  Neil flicked from channel to channel. He settled on a film channel but pulled a face when he saw who it was by. It was a film done by Moriyama Film Studios. He stared at the studio logo, the emblem was of a raven carrying one of it’s long black feathers in its beak, It dropped the feather and then took flight, it's black wing covering the screen in darkness and the film started right after. Neil switched the TV off and headed to his room for an early night, he lifted King off his lap and carried him to the bedroom. Once he’d settled in bed, King curled in the crook of Neil’s neck and they both fell asleep to the sound of soft rain pattering on the huge windows outside. 

He woke up a few hours later. King meowed at him as he got up to get some water. He glanced at his phone and saw it was just past two in the morning.  _ Ugh, fuck. _ He thought and wandered over to get a glass. He stopped short when he switched on the main light and saw a note pushed under the door. He walked over, picked it up and opened it. Sellotaped to the paper was a single black feather, identical to the other one. Written underneath the feather Neil read the words:

_ For your cat, it liked the other one. _

Neil knew what this meant. The feathers weren’t some random coincidence. It was from someone outside his friendship group. Someone who had been in his apartment. Someone who had been alone with his cat. He dropped the note and ran to his phone. He dialled Matt’s number.

_ Neil? _

**I know It’s late Matt but, I just got a fucking note with a Raven feather attached to it.**

_ Uh, ok? _

**Meaning, they weren’t from Nicky’s bag?!**

_ Oh, OH SHIT! Ok, ok I’ll be over there in like, fifteen minutes. We need to get you a personal bodyguard Neil. I think one of Nicky’s cousins might be one. I’ll give Nicky a call and see what he says ok? _

**Ok, I’m ok, I’ll just wait here for you.**

_ That’s fine buddy, be there soon. _

**Ok.**

The call ended and Neil slumped down on the couch, head in his hands. The last thing he needed was a fucking stalker. He couldn’t help thinking this had to be connected to his family. He really hoped it wasn’t but he wouldn’t put it past his fucked up Dad to be using it as a scare tactic. No matter who it was, Neil needed help with this. However much he hated to admit it, Kevin was right, he needed a bodyguard. Perhaps it would help bring some normality back into his life. He just hoped the bodyguard was well prepared for the fucked up life of Neil Josten. 


	2. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt organises a bodyguard to stay over at Neil's place for a trial period. Nicky sends his cousin, Andrew Minyard, the best in the business, apparently.  
> Neil is sceptical at first but there's something about Andrew's stance and his attitude that Neil can't help but trust.  
> The two get to know each other and Neil starts to feel safe again, finally...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter finally!  
> My Bookstore AU Will be updated in the next couple of days too!  
> I'm taking part in the aftg fall fic exchange! So apologies if the updates are slightly sporadic :p hopefully I'll keep them all up to date!  
> anyway, enjoy!

Matt arrived at Neil’s apartment within ten minutes. He lived close by and Neil could tell he’d run the whole way, sweat stuck his hair to his forehead. He was on the phone as he twisted the key in Neil’s lock and let himself in.  
“Ok, thanks Nicky, I owe you one pal….No not like that! Nicky, you have a husband. Ok man, bye.” Matt ended the call, shaking his head with a smile. He eyed Neil on the couch and sat next to him.  
“How are you feeling buddy?”   
“Kind of, violated?”   
“I bet, I’m so sorry this is happening, Neil.” Matt said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. Neil shrugged.  “Nicky is calling his cousin. He’s called Andrew. Apparently he’s the best in the business according to his agency. He’ll stay for the next couple of days whilst I work out the details with his agency if you want to hire him full time, ok?” Neil nodded. He put his head in his hands.  
“Sorry to do this, I know it’s really late-” Neil began but Matt interrupted him.  
“Hey! Don’t be sorry, Jesus Neil. We need to discuss whether we should get the police involved-”   
“NO! My family will just use it as an excuse to get me back! Please Matt, don’t!” Neil begged. Matt smiled a sad smile at him and nodded.  
“I’ll make us some tea.” 

Ten minutes after Matt had arrived, their was a buzz at the intercom. Neil stood up and walked over to it.  
“Hello?”   
“Hey, It’s Andrew Minyard, Nicky sent me?” The voice said through the speaker. Neil felt slightly more relaxed when he heard that. “Can you buzz me in?”   
“Uh, sure, one sec” Neil replied and pressed the button to let him in. Matt was sat on the couch, cradling his mug of tea.   
“Want me to stay?”   
“No, I’ll be ok now. Thanks Matt.”   
“No worries man, I’m always here.” He said, swigging the last of his tea and gathering his coat. He headed out the door and stopped to let someone in. Matt gave him a look and said goodbye to Neil before letting the other person head in. Andrew Minyard entered the apartment and Neil did a double take. He couldn’t have been more than five feet tall, blonde hair slightly messy on top and neater on the sides. He had a scowl that Neil could feel deep in his bones and he dressed all in black. Andrew raised an eyebrow.  
“Neil Josten?” he asked and Neil took a moment to reply before regaining his composure.  
“Oh, erm yes!”   
“You sure about that? Took you a while there.” Andrew said with a slight smirk and Neil blushed at him.  
“Yes! I’m Just, I don’t know, in shock probably.”   
“Of course. Well, I’m Andrew Minyard, my cousin sent me to assess a possible 24 hour security watch.” Andrew said and Neil walked over to shake his hand. As Andrew took his hand, Neil noticed the holster around Andrew’s waste. It had a holder for a gun, Neil assumed would be a hand gun and two pockets for Knives, though all holders were empty. He had a duffel bag slung over his shoulder so Neil assumed they must be in there. Neil gestured for Andrew to take a seat on one of the couches. He dropped the duffel bag he was carrying and sat on the couch to the right of Neil.  
“So, would you like to talk about what happened?”   
“Not really.” Neil said, sighing.  
“Well, I kinda need you to? Just so I can understand the situation.”   
“Oh shit, of course, erm well, today, or yesterday now I guess, I went out to buy coffee and came back to see my cat playing with a feather-”   
“You have a cat?” Andrew asked, eyes lighting up ever so slightly.”   
“Yeah, why?”   
“Oh, I like cats that's all.”   
Cool! Well, I’d never seen the feather before but thought nothing of it. Matt came round in the evening and said it was probably from Nicky’s costume bag or whatever. But then I woke up at about two in the morning and decided to get some water and saw a note pushed under my apartment door, which is weird because usually people just use the mail boxes downstairs. You have to be buzzed in like you were in order to get to the actual apartments. I’ll get you the note so you can have a look at it.” He said and retrieved the note from the dining table. "Oh, I also got a random phone call from an unknown number earlier in the day, claiming to be a fan." Andrew studied the note and Neil took a moment to look at Andrew in more detail. He was toned, that much was obvious. His black long-sleeved shirt cupped his biceps snugly. He had a bulky yet slender frame and freckles kissed his nose and cheeks. Neil spotted a piece of equipment on Andrew’s left ear. At first he thought it was a small headset earpiece but on closer inspection he realised it was a hearing aid. Andrew noticed Neil staring and subconsciously reached for his ear to fiddle with it. He handed Neil the note back and looked down to see a cat rubbing at his heels. Neil watched as Andrew gently stroked King’s head.  
“It’s definitely a threat.” Andrew said without looking up. “I’ll hand it to my boss as well as the number that rang you and he’ll look into it more. If anything comes of it we can think about getting a private investigator involved if you’re not comfortable with police being all over it.”   
“How did you know I don't want the police involved?” Neil asked with a frown.  
“You trusted my cousin over the police. You must have a pretty low opinion of them.” Andrew deadpanned and Neil laughed and nodded. “Do you have any questions about me?” Andrew asked him. Neil thought for a second.  
“How old are you?”   
“Twenty four.”   
“I’m twenty three.” Neil replied but Andrew raised an eyebrow. “I know, I did a quick google search of you to figure out who you are.” Neil put on a face of mock-offence.  
“You mean you’re not a fan?!” He cried and Andrew smiled slightly in amusement.   
“I watched your last film if that makes you feel better. The gay wizard one.”   
“Oh yeah! My best work so far if the news articles are anything to go by.” Andrew just nodded slowly. Neil looked to Andrew's ear again and his mouth moved before he could stop it.  
“You have a hearing aid.” Neil said, pointing to his left ear. Andrew again, reached to touch his ear but stopped himself halfway.   
“I do.” He said slowly and looked over at Neil. “Problem?” Neil put his hands up.  
“Oh no! Just surprising for a bodyguard. Apparently you’re the best?”   
“I don’t know about all that but I take my job seriously. I promise, you’re in safe hands, I may have lost hearing in one ear but it doesn’t impair my job of protecting you at all. My boss will vouch for me.”   
“Awesome, that’s all I needed to hear.” Neil said. “Can I have a look at it?” He asked and Andrew nodded. He went to take it out his ear but Neil stopped him. “It’s ok, I can look and save you the hassle putting it back in.” Andrew shook his head.  
“I prefer it out anyway.” He replied and Neil smiled giving him an ok. Andrew gently hooked it out his ear and handed it to Neil, apologising if there was any ‘weird ear gunk’ as he put it. Neil laughed at the wording. It was a simple black device, fairly small in size. A tube connected the main body of the aid to the ear mould that fit in Andrew’s ear. Neil gently turned it over without touching the earbud.   
“That style was the easiest one for me to use.” Andrew said. “Some of the smaller options were a bit too fiddly, especially if I need to put it in quickly I think.” He finished and Neil nodded.   
“Have you always needed one?”   
“Since I was 14.” He replied nonchalant. Neil asked if he’d mind elaborating and then apologised for the rude question. Andrew shook it off.  
“No worries. My foster brother at the time got annoyed at me for not cooperating with him. He smashed a bottle on the side of my head and the shock ruptured my eardrum.” He said. Neil was speechless for a second.   
“I’m sorry you had to endure such a horrible home.” He said. And Andrew smiled slightly.  
“You’re the first person who’s said sorry for the environment instead of sorry for the hearing loss. Thank you.” Neil smiled at him and gave him the hearing aid back, Andrew slotted it back into place.  
“Do you want to ask me anything?” Neil said, changing the subject for Andrew’s sake. Andrew thought for a second.  
“Do you think your family is behind this?” He asked and Neil was slightly shocked at that. Andrew noticed the surprise on Neil’s face. “Like I said, I googled you, plus your family is always on some newscast, shouting about how you betrayed them.” He said.  
“It’s my father. He’s power crazy. He used to be a huge star until he was found to have ties with drugs and arms dealing. They got involved with the Moriyama's film company for protection. My father finds young actors and actresses down on their luck, recruits them and then puts them in contact with the Moriyama's. They’re stuck for life after that. They see me as a way to make profit. My mother has no control anymore. I’ve not seen or heard from her since I left. My fathers men are always the ones trying to get in contact with me. As for the threat? I don’t think they’d risk it in case I started spouting about it to all the news outlets.” Andrew looked thoughtful for a second.  
“Could it be the Moriyama's? Raven feather seems to be their M.O” Neil shook his head.  
“They have no stake in me. Sure, they’d benefit from taking my income but I never signed a contract with them. They’d be in more trouble than it’s worth if they did anything to me.” Andrew nodded in understanding. Neil looked over at the clock and realised it was three thirty in the morning. He felt tiredness washing over him and he stifled a yawn. Andrew looked over at him.   
“If you want to sleep feel free. I’ll get myself acquainted with the apartment. This is a temporary basis until you decide whether or not you want to employ me but I will be staying over the next couple of nights if that’s ok with you?” Neil nodded. “Is there anywhere I can put my stuff?” He asked, picking up his duffel bag. Neil showed him to the spare room where King was currently curled up. The room was directly next to Neil’s room.   
“I’m going to survey your room quickly to make sure it’s safe, then I’ll move on to the rest of the apartment, I might have a nap if that’s ok with you? I'll wake up if there's any noises but I highly doubt there will be now that they've already posted the note through.” Neil let out a sigh of relief and nodded. This really was exactly what he’d needed. He thought it was strange to feel so safe in the hands of a stranger but Andrew didn’t feel like a stranger for some reason.  He headed to his room whilst Andrew followed closely, checking the window and every inch of Neil’s room. He watched Neil get into bed and wished him goodnight, even though it was the early hours of the morning. The last thing he saw was Andrew’s blonde hair disappearing as he shut the door. Neil closed his eyes and thought how crazy this whole situation was. He was just drifting off as his phone pinged and he reluctantly opened his eyes.

Matt   
You still up?   
  
Just about to go to sleep   
  
Matt   
Ok, just wanted to see how   
It’s going?   
  
Good! Andrew seems great. Definitely   
Knows what he’s doing.   
  
Matt   
Awesome! I’ll call his agency   
Tomorrow and start talking   
Employment.    
  
Okay, night Matt   
  
Matt   
Night buddy! 

Neil noticed a text from Kevin from 5 hours ago that he’d forgotten about. As soon as he sent his reply, Kevin answered back.   


Kevin  
Thought any more about a bodyguard?  
  
Yeah, something happened tonight,  
Nicky put me in contact with his   
Cousin. He’s on kind of a   
Trial run right now but I think it’ll work  
Out hopefully.   
  
Kevin  
What happened??? You ok??  
  
Yeah, think I have a slight stalker   
Situation is all.   
  
Kevin  
Jesus Neil, stay safe   
  
Yeah, that’s what Andrew’s for.  
  
Kevin  
Andrew Minyard?  
  
You know him?  
  
Kevin  
He works for my father's company.

Oh cool   
  
Kevin   
Yeah, you’re in safe hands.

Neil smiled at his phone screen and turned it off. Closing his eyes again, he tried to sleep but found his mind wandering to his current situation. He got up to see if Andrew was still walking round the apartment. He found him playing with King.    
“Slacking, huh?” Neil smirked and Andrew narrowed his eyes.  
“Rude.”   
“My award winning personality for you.”   
“Is that why you always get cast as the snarky dumb-asses.”   
“Who’s being rude now?” Neil said with a breathy laugh and Andrew winked at him.  
“My award winning personality for you.” He imitated. Neil gave him a glare with no heat to it. “Can’t sleep?” Andrew assumed.  
“Yeah, I got at least a few hours sleep before I woke up.” He said with a shrug. Andrew nodded in acceptance.   
“What’s your cat called.”   
“He’s called King.” Neil said and smiled as he watched him bat at Andrew’s fingers. “Can I ask you something?” Andrew hummed and Neil took that as a yes. “Why did you want to become a bodyguard?”   
“I can put my skills into the job everyday. I’ve always had a somewhat protective streak, or so I’ve been told, figured I get to use my brain as well as my fighting skills all in one. Plus there's never a dull moment. I hate being bored.”  
“Yeah, that's a good enough reason.”   
“Why an actor?”   
“I’m rather good at lying.” Neil replied, vaguely and Andrew huffed out a laugh.  
“Fair enough.” Andrew said. Neil led down on the couch and watched Andrew turn back to play with King. Neil’s eyes started to droop as he listened to the monotone, one-sided conversation Andrew was having with the grey fur ball.   
"Mind if I sleep out here?"  
"If you feel safer, sure." Andrew said "I might fall asleep on the armchair. In the morning, I'll set up CCTV that'll pick up any movement in the apartment and send it straight to my phone. I can also change your doorbell so a live feed of who is at the door can be sent to our phones before you let them in. Are you ok with all this?" Andrew said, he got up and sat on the armchair across from Neil. he'd gotten a knife out of his duffel bag when Neil was in his room and was fiddling with it in the holder. Neil belatedly realised he would usually be nervous or wary of anyone fiddling with a knife like that but for some reason, Andrew didn't set him on edge, rather the opposite. He thought back to the current situation. He hoped it wasn't his family behind all of this but then again, would a crazed fan really be any better? Hopefully, the threat of a bodyguard would put whoever it was off. Neil had an inkling that wasn't true but he thought it best not to dwell on such dark matters. Instead, he watched Andrew get cosy on the armchair. King jumped up onto his lap.  
"Hey! Traitor!" Neil pouted. Andrew looked smug. "He doesn't usually like new people so you should feel privileged."  
"Oh I do, He clearly loves me more."  
"Uh-Uh." Neil argued.  
Uh-Huh" Andrew countered and Neil laughed.  
"Fine, fine. We should try and get a couple hours sleep anyway."  
"You first." Andrew replied and Neil let his eyes close. The faint noise of King purring lulled him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!!! Let me know your thoughts!  
> Again, I hope to update my multi-chapter fics within 1-2 weeks!  
> Stay tuned! :)


	3. One Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil is settling down with Andrew as his new bodyguard. Their first test comes when a rival of Neil's turns up unannounced claiming to have information about his stalker. Like most things in life, the information comes at a price. A high price that Neil's not sure he can pay. However, his friends seem to be in the crossfire of Neil's war and that's the opposite of what he wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY!!! I've updated it! Sorry for such a long wait hehe  
> I had a bit of time before my fic for the Fall exchange is due so I figured I would update my multi-chapter fics!  
> I hope you enjoy this update, it's slightly more intense than the last two!  
> incase anybody wants warnings for this chapter:  
> -Strong language  
> -mild depiction of violence. 
> 
> Inspired by @kogiekog on Instagram. They're doing a bodyguard text fic! It's so good, check it out! This is gonna be a bit different but the idea was totally inspired by them!

Neil awoke with a start, the sound of someone rifling through his cupboards filling his ears. He shot up, grabbing anything within reaching distance and holding it out at the intruder. In hindsight, grabbing the remote instead of the knife holder that was led across the table was a dumb idea but Neil’s sleep fogged brain couldn’t have cared less, damn he was getting soft. He rubbed his eyes, opening them again to see there was no intruder. Simply a grumpy blonde dude stood by the stove.   
“Good morning to you too.” Andrew deadpanned, “I’m making breakfast.” He said and it took Neil a minute for the information to process through to his brain.  
“You’re...making breakfast? Why?” He questioned, running a hand through his mussed-up hair. Andrew shot him an 'are you dumb?’ look.  
“Because I’m hungry?” He said, obviously. Neil just stood their dumbly for a second before shrugging, sitting back down, and turning the TV on.

The wonderful smell of Bacon filled the apartment and King began his mission to annoy Andrew into giving him some. Andrew lasted exactly one minute of non-stop meow howling before he gave up, cut some pieces of bacon up, and mixed it into his furry friend’s breakfast all the while mumbling about how much he was already inconveniencing his life. Neil found the whole exchange very amusing. Andrew caught Neil staring and narrowed his hazel eyes. He noticed Andrew's hearing aid was on the coffee table and turned off the TV so Andrew would hear him clearly when he  spoke up.    
“You mentioned you have a cat?” he prompted, Andrew looked off into the distance as if experiencing some form of disturbing war flashback. He looked back at Neil and nodded.   
“She is...the Devil.”   
“Awww, name?”   
“Sir Fat Cat McCatterson.”  
“Ah well, King’s full name is King Fluffkins so they’re a good pair.”   
“I...miss her when I’m working.”  
“Well, you’re welcome to bring her. I have enough food and I’m sure King would love some lady company. I should probably mention he’s neutered.”  
“You think my child would be interested in your fluff bag?” Andrew raised an eyebrow, amusement flickering in his eyes.   
“Oh, so your cat’s a stuck up brat huh?” Neil was loving the easy back and forth between both of them. He hadn’t made many friends in his life but Andrew was truthful and to the point, all of which Neil had been deprived of in his life up until now. Andrew dished out bacon and scrambled eggs on two plates, handed one to Neil and slumped back onto the sofa with his portion.

They ate breakfast whilst skimming over the morning news channels. Neil often found there wasn’t much to watch in the morning and normally he’d go to the gym in the apartment complex. Andrew agreed to go down with him albeit reluctantly. Neil tried to comment on the irony of Andrew working in such a physical job yet being so reluctant to actually keep fit but he was shut down when Andrew almost pressed the emergency stop button in the elevator on their way down. They arrived to find the gym empty. Neil looked around and saw no signs of life. Usually his annoying neighbor Chad would wander over straight away and try to do some weird bro handshake ritual. Neil was convinced it was some form of Black Magic that would turn Neil into a lifeless 'bro'.   
“Is it usually this dead?” Andrew asked, his voice lowered in volume slightly. Neil shook his head and scanned the room again. He watched Andrew flick the strap securing his gun into the holder off and he gulped. A noise from across the room made Neil jolt. Andrew’s hand moved lightning fast, pulling his gun out and pointing it in the direction of the sound.  
“I’m an armed Bodyguard, show yourself before someone gets hurt.” He ordered, calmly. A shadow appeared on the wall and Andrew growled for Neil to get behind him. Neil suddenly realized Andrew wasn’t wearing a bulletproof vest and felt the need to get in front of him instead. The figure moved again and surfaced into the light with his hands up. The gesture meant peace but the man’s face said anything but that. Neil squinted at him, taking in his dark spikey hair and black clothing.   
“Riko Moriyama, as I live and breathe. What in the fuck are you doing here?”  
Andrew looked over at Neil, face twisted into surprise.  
“You know this creep?”   
“Well, yeah. Most people do. Plus we’ve been up for the same role many times. He’s a piece of shit”   
“Heard you have a little problem, Nathaniel,” Riko said voice filled with poison   
“Do not call me that, you rat-faced son of a bitch. What I have or do not have is none of your business”  
“Oh, so your personal bodyguard isn’t here to protect you from some crazed fan then?” Riko turned and smiled a sick twisted smile towards Andrew. “Put your gun away sweetheart. I’m unarmed.” He added as sweet as sour candy.  
“What do you want?” Andrew spat at him, gun still cocked, not flinching from its aim towards Riko's forehead.  
“To help out a friend.” came the reply as if it was the most obvious thing ever. Neil laughed out loud, a contrast to the eerily silent gym.  
“You’re delusional if you think I’d ever want your help. After what you did to Kevin? Get the fuck out before I shoot you myself.”  
“I have no idea what you're talking about. You're both way out of line.”   
"I don’t belong to you, Riko.”   
“You belong to my family.”   
“Die in a hole. I never have or will belong to those bastards.”   
“That’s not what your father said when I saw him last week. Oh dear, I’ve said too much.” He said, feigning ignorance.  
“What were you doing talking to my father?!” Neil snarled at him and cursed himself for falling right into Riko’s trap. He saw the moment Riko’s eyes lit up with wicked intent.  
“Oh nothing, just some stuff about him sending a man over to intimidate you.” He studied his nail’s casually flicking his eyes up to meet Neil’s. “I could help you. Give you some info. In exchange for one small favor of course.”   
“Not interested,” Andrew said huffing at the very idea of it. He looked over at Neil when he didn’t reply but Neil was too busy thinking to care.   
“What’s the favor.”   
Nothing big...just handing over all your future roles to me.”  
“Like hell, he’ll do that.”   
“Andrew. This could mean getting my father out of the picture once and for all. If I could prove he sent someone after me, he’d be done for!”   
“Are you serious? You’d give up your career because of some freak that may have a bit of information for us?” Riko pulled a face at him.  
“How dare you question the value of my information! Who are you to speak down to me!?” He roared.   
“I have no idea who you are and quite frankly I couldn’t give a rats ass about it either. Shut the fuck up and never come near Neil again, unless you want me to remove your insides.” Riko sneered at him. He took a step forward despite Andrew’s gun.  
“You have one week to decide Nathaniel. After that, it's entirely on you what happens." He said and with that, he disappeared back into the shadows, the sound of a heavy door shutting echoed in Neil’s ears. He and Andrew stood alone for a minute, not knowing what to say or do. Andrew looked half ready to go after Riko but Neil just turned around and left.   
Andrew followed behind.   
“Why are you not wearing a bulletproof vest?” Neil asked with more force than necessary. Andrew looked surprised at the question.  
“That’s what you care about right now?”   
“How are you supposed to protect me with a bullet in your chest?”   
“I-”   
“You can’t. End of story.” He huffed, pressing the elevator button and marching in as soon as the doors slid open. 

They were silent the whole ride up, opening the apartment door, they both collapsed on the couch.  
“Well, I never got to work out.”   
“Again, priorities.” Andrew huffed with amusement.   
“Sorry I snapped at you.”   
“It’s ok,” Andrew said smiling ever so slightly. “It’s cute that you care so much.” Neil blushed, stuttering to find the right words.   
“It’s not like that it-”  
“Neil, I’m teasing.”   
“Ohh, gotcha,” he said, Andrew snorted and Neil shoved him playfully. His phone rang, an unknown number on the display. He showed Andrew he nodded, Neil took that as a signal to answer it. Putting the phone on speaker, he was greeted by Riko’s voice on the other end.  


_“I’ll give you a tip for free, so you know that I’m not fucking with you. Your father’s serious this time Neil. He doesn’t care who gets hurt in the crossfire. You might want to turn on the news. One week, I’ll see you soon.”_

And the line went dead. Andrew was already turning the channel and Neil gasped as he saw the Breaking News headline. 

_ ‘A stunt accident has put popular actor Kevin Day out for a few weeks. While his team says he’ll recover soon, the actor appeared shaken and distressed. The accident was caused when the motorbike Day was riding lost control. It appeared the breaks had not been checked thoroughly before shooting. The police are investigating any foul play but have released a statement saying they are sure this whole thing was an unfortunate accident. The actor was caught up in a similar incident last year when shooting Carry On with co-star Neil Josten. Day broke his wrist when the wires holding him up during one particular stunt snapped. More on the story as it unfolds.” _

Neil was speechless for a while. His heart clenched at the picture of Kevin looking scared and shaken. Kevin was one of his closest friends. How could he have let this happen?   
“Oh my God. I need to see Kevin when he’s out of the hospital, Andrew.”   
“Ok, no worries, I can contact his security if you want him to come here?” Andrew questioned and Neil nodded. “I also have security cameras. You can help me install them if you want.”   
“Ok,” Neil said anything to take his mind off this. He sent Kevin a text.

Come round to mine when you’re    
Out of hospital, so sorry this    
Happened to you, always here for   
You Kev <3 

He received a thank you text with a return heart emoji a few minutes later and felt a slight weight lift from his shoulders. He’d feel better after seeing him in person. Andrew broke the silence that had taken up the room.  
"When he broke his wrist, was that Riko's doing?"  
"Yes. Riko found out I'd gotten the lead role alongside Kevin. He was pissed at us for it and took it out on Kevin. He and Kevin were friends in the past until Kevi realised how fucked up Riko and his family are. He's been pissed at both of us ever since. I saw him on set that day. He said he was there to visit a friend but I highly doubt that."  
"How do you know his information is going to be useful?"  
"I don't, but like he said, I have a week to think about it."

Matt called the next day to enquire about how Andrew’s trial was going. Neil assured him Andrew was perfect for the job and was surprised when only an hour later, the contract for Andrew’s employment was finalized. Matt brought it round as well as Andrew’s boss who wanted to make sure everything was official. David Wymack was an intimidating guy. He had a muscular build and a fierce look on his face, the flame tattoo on his left arm only backing up his intimidating demeanor. However, he was...nice. He made sure to check that Andrew was ok with all the terms of the contract which Neil thought was a good thing for a boss to do. He suddenly remembered this dude was Kevin’s dad. Kevin had given Neil some vague background about his family. His mother had died when he was young and he’d moved from Ireland to live with his dad here in the US but kept his mum’s last name. He said it was a better stage name than ‘Wymack’. When the contract was fully signed and their guests had left, Andrew disappeared to get a few more things from his apartment. He came back carrying a rather big box and a backpack slung around his shoulder.   
“What’s in the box?” Neil asked. Andrew looked down to his side, opened the cardboard top and a sleek, jet black cat leaped out, sat on the floor, and meowed up at Andrew.  
“This is Sir,” another meow, “Sir, this is Neil.” Neil waved and then felt slightly stupid so he bent down so Sir could trot over for a scratch behind her ear. King wandered out a few minutes later, spotting the intruder and rushing over to Neil.  
“Meet your new friend King!” Neil said, excitedly. King wandered over to the new housemate and was greeted by a paw to the face. Neil gasped dramatically and Andrew praised Sir for being ‘well trained’ however, King was not deterred. He slunk back over to Sir, rolled over in front of her, and meowed. “Oh king, don’t be such a baby,” Neil said, rolling his eyes at his cat. He turned his attention back to Andrew. “He’s a lady pleaser.” He shrugged and Andrew raised an eyebrow at him.   
“Seems desperate.”   
“Hey! Don’t talk about my son like that.” Neil scolded and Andrew held his hands up in surrender. The cats began chasing after each other happily, occasionally hissing when the other got too excited. The two men watched them go, Neil smiled, an odd sense of calm domesticity washing over him.  
“So, I’ve organized Kevin to visit in a week’s time. That ok with you?”   
“Yeah, I've got a ton of work emails to answer so I’ll probably be busy ignoring them all week. Next week is perfect.” Andrew snorted amusedly. 

That night, Neil was getting ready for bed. He heard Andrew come out of his room and headed out to meet him.  
“Hey, can I ask you a question?”   
“Of course.”   
“This is entirely up to whether you’re comfortable doing it or not,” Neil assured. Andrew frowned at him   
“Okay..”  
“I’m not sleeping very well. Is there any chance you could possibly...sleep in my room?”   
“Oh sure. No problem at all.” Andrew said, smiling slightly. Neil let out a sigh of relief.   
“Thank you, Andrew.”   
“Just doing my job. I can move my bed in, it’ll be a tight fit but I’m sure we can make it work.”   
“Perfect.” Neil beamed. 

An hour (and a whole lot of furniture moving) later, they had decided to just move the mattress for now. Andrew wasn’t sure about sharing a bed just yet and Neil totally respected that. Neil had no problem with giving affection to his friends, he assumed that was probably why the media was so willing to jump onto the relationship train. However, he made sure to respect people’s boundaries when they were laid out to him. Neil watched Andrew remove his hearing aid and start cleaning it out gently with a small kit he’d placed on Neil’s nightstand. He found it oddly fascinating and apologized when Andrew caught him staring. Andrew shrugged.  
“No worries. I can show you how I clean it if you want?”  
“Sure!” Neil said, blushing slightly at Andrew’s hesitant smile. He moved to sit down on Andrew’s mattress with him and watched closely as he cleaned out the delicate device. His shoulder bumped Andrew’s gently and he saw Andrew’s adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. He cleared his throat, Andrew flinched slightly.  
“Sorry, didn’t realize how close I was to you.”  
I don’t mind.” Andrew replied, quietly, his brow was furrowed in concentration and his bottom lip was pouting ever so slightly. Neil smiled.   
“Good.”  
  
They got into their seperate beds once Andrew had finished cleaning his hearing aid and putting his gear in a reachable location. Neil tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable and gave up after 3 minutes without any luck.  
“Andrew, you awake?”  
“Yep.”  
“Same.”  
“I gathered.”  
“How did you get the contact details for Kevin’s security so quickly by the way?”  
“I know Kevin’s bodyguard, he’s annoying as fuck but he’s good at his job. I have his number so I just texted him. Plus, both of us are employed by Wymack.”  
“Oh yeah, of course. Who is he?”  
“My brother. Aaron Minyard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Fox and Friends chapter 8 should be out in the next day or two!  
> If you have any questions/prompts make sure to hit me up on Tumblr @jostenlovesminyard  
> Thanks for reading :)


	4. Josten's 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kevin visits Neil and Andrew for the first time since his accident. Neil gets to meet Kevin's bodyguard and Andrew's twin. Aaron Minyard. Neil witnesses tension between the two brothers and they all come to some shocking revelations about who's really behind the threats. A risky plan is created and the team decides they have to risk it in order to take down the top dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been a long time coming! sorry for the delay!  
> I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter! I added a bit of fluff at the end to make up for the delay so I hope you like it hehe   
> I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I finally have an idea of where this can go and I'm so happy!  
> For those of you waiting for Fox and friends to be updated, it will be in the next couple of days! I can't wait!  
> I have a new fic coming out in the next few days so stay tuned for that too.  
> I just posted a new fic for those of you who have read Carry On, if you like a bit of Snowbaz feel free to go check it out :)  
> Big thank you to @Junkiejosten10 for Beta reading this for me <3 Love you!

Kevin visited a few days later. He had a cast around his right leg which Neil signed at his request. Kevin had been lucky to come away with just a broken leg but he was going to be out of action for a while. Neil looked over to the bodyguard Kevin had arrived with. It was like staring at an optical illusion. Aaron Minyard was the exact copy of his twin, Andrew. Barely any differences whatsoever. The night prior to Kevin’s visit, Neil had made sure to comment on how cute it was they’d both become bodyguards. Andrew had threatened to leave him for the stalker. He highly doubted that.  
Aaron Minyard stood with his arms folded, directly behind Kevin. He had a sneaking suspicion Aaron didn’t like him from the way he was sneering at Neil currently, but he couldn’t care less what some blonde shortie thought of him...except for Andrew of course.   
“Do you have any clue who it could have been?” Neil asked Kevin, regarding his accident. He saw Aaron narrow his eyes.  
“The cops said it was a freak accident, stop pretending you know any better.” He said bitterly. Andrew raised a brow at his brother but stayed silent.  
“Maybe you’re just touchy because it was actually you who did it.” Neil shot back. Aaron turned red with anger.  
“How fucking dare you,” He pointed an accusatory finger at Neil, “You think you’re all high and mighty! Well, You have no idea-”  
“Aaron, he’s messing with you,” Kevin said, turning around to lay a hand on his shoulder. Aaron took a minute to take his eyes off Neil. Neil was too busy staring at Andrew who looked exasperated. He shot him a playful wink and elbowed Kevin gently.  
“I missed hanging out with you!” He said. Kevin looked lost for words for a second.  
“Thank you, I er, missed your company too.” He said with a smile. He heard Andrew sigh behind him.  
“Just fuck already, jeez.”  
“Hey! Gross.” Neil said pulling a face, Kevin looked equally disgusted. Aaron looked close to imploding. Andrew made a show of taking his hearing aid out and dumping it on the table. Neil snorted.  
“My father won’t be happy with you taking that out on the job, Andrew,” Kevin said, he received a look of disinterest in return.  
“Ok, Draco, I’ll keep that in mind.” Andrew retorted and turned his attention back to his brother, leaving his hearing aid on the table for Kevin to be annoyed with. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t an accident. It’s obvious.”  
“You’d know all about that wouldn’t you.” Aaron spat back. The words hung in the air between the twins, Andrew seemingly unfazed except for a twitch of his lips, Aaron appeared to regret how harsh he sounded. Neil had no idea what must have gone on between the twins but there seemed to be some pretty heavy weights they were both carrying between them. It wasn’t Neil’s place to be nosy about his bodyguard’s past but something about the Minyard brothers was so intriguing that he found himself wanting to know more. “How would you know if it wasn’t an accident?” Aaron said, his voice forcibly calmer than before.   
“A tip,” Andrew replied and Aaron cocked his head.  
“What the fuck? What the fuck does that even mean? What is this, Brooklyn Nine-Nine?”  
“Shut up man, let your brother fucking speak.” Neil snapped, getting annoyed.  
“Oh-ho I get it, you two are,” He waved a finger between Andrew and Neil, “Huh, makes sense. Though it happened faster than I thought it would, even for you, brother.”   
“You’re one to talk.” Andrew snorted and Aaron made an attempt to grab him, growling. Neil sighed and decided to be the parent in the situation.  
“Oh my God! You two are like a pair of fighting teenagers, grow up! Jesus Christ!” He sighed and Kevin pinched the bridge of his nose. Neil assumed this was something Kevin had to deal with regularly. Something in his brain flickered.  
“Hold on a minute. I’ve known Kevin for a while now. How come I’ve never met you?” He raised an eyebrow at Aaron.   
“I...well, I’ve never been around!”  
“So you’re a bodyguard that just doesn’t guard your person?”  
“Well...no-”  
“Then why have I never met you before?”  
“Because I’ve only just been assigned to watch Kevin.”  
“But why now? Kevin’s always been paranoid,” He turned to look at Kevin, “Why now?”  
“That’s none of your concern.”  
“I’m pretty damn sure it is actually,”  
“Fuck off Josten,”  
“No, you fuck-”  
“Because I’ve been receiving threats!” Kevin speedily forced out. Neil frowned at him.  
“What? Since when?”  
“Since a few weeks ago. Saying I need to give up my acting roles in the future. Leaving feathers in my house. I wanted to get the police involved but Dad said this could be bigger than them. Whatever that means.”  
“He thinks they have someone on the inside, is what that means.” Andrew offered. “Let me call in a favor, I have a,” Andrew waved his hand slightly as if trying to find the right word, “person in mind, he could help us out.”   
“Well, Riko just made a deadly mistake.” Neil huffed out a laugh. Andrew nodded and the others looked at him in confusion.  
“What does this have to do with Riko Moriyama?!” Aaron demanded.  
“He came to me with a slightly different offer but the same motive. _Give up your movie roles._ In exchange for information on who’s been stalking me. He also told us about your little accident right before it came on the news.” I should have known he’d be behind it.  
“I guess that makes sense. But why would he be so dumb?” Kevin frowned.  
“I don’t know, we’ll have to find out I guess.”   
“Fuck off, we’re not messing with that psycho.” Andrew rolled his eyes at his brother.  
“Don’t be dramatic.” He shoved him. “It’ll be fun.” Kevin sighed and shook his head.  
“So, what are we actually planning on doing here?”  
“Finding evidence that Riko is the one blackmailing Kevin and, I’m gonna also assume, stalking Neil.” Andrew shrugged but Kevin wasn’t placated.  
“And how, pray tell, do you plan on doing that? Walk right into the film studio grounds and go snooping for evidence?” he scoffed. Neil slapped him on the back, gently.  
“Great idea Kev! That’s exactly what we’ll do.” He said cheerily. The twins cocked their heads at the same time and said,“‘ _We_ ’?” Neil rolled his eyes.  
“Yes, ‘We’”. Kevin knows that place well, I may or may not have experience snooping around forbidden places and the Olsen twins are professional bodyguards!” Neil could feel the glares he received for that but carried on with a grin, “I’m sure we’ll survive.” Kevin seemed resigned.  
“Fucking fine! But if we die, I’ll fucking kill you.”  
“Perfect!” Neil cheered, clapping his hands together. “Let’s start plotting! Oh, I can’t do this Wednesday though, I’m meeting Tom Holland for coffee.”  
“Lord give me strength.”

* * *

  
The four boys gathered around Neil’s small table in the kitchen. Neil’s blood was red hot with exhilaration. He loved acting but sometimes it got a bit dull when he was on a break. When he was younger he would go sneaking around his father’s desk, hoping to find scripts and ideas he could make pretend with. Getting caught wasn’t fun but the thrill of picking locks, something his Uncle Stuart had taught him when he’d visited once, was incentive enough for him to do it again. One day he’d stumbled across something that definitely was not a script, he remembered reading the money coming in and going to The Moriyama Film Studios. His father had thrown him down the stairs when he caught him. Neil never did it again.  
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Andrew fiddling with his hearing aid. He watched him put it in and found himself smiling at the look of concentration on his bodyguard’s face.   
“Can you not use your bodyguard connections and get the plans for the building off one of the security guys there?”  
“Neil, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this but this is not a heist movie.”  
“You’re no fun.” He pouted for emphasis but Andrew just rolled his eyes.  
“If this were a heist movie, someone would double-cross us, my money’s on Aaron.”  
“Fuck off, Andrew.”  
“Moving on!” Andrew declared. “As Danny Ocean said earlier, Kevin knows the layout of the studios. Obviously, If he walks in, someone’s bound to recognise him. He’s gonna stay in the car and talk through an earpiece. Aaron and I will pose as Bodyguards bringing in the up and coming actor, Stephan Bibliothèque.”  
“Stephan Library?”  
“Ok, We’ll work on the last name.” Andrew conceded and Neil laughed at him. Aaron was shaking his head, hands on his hips.  
“I don’t get why we’re doing this! Can’t we just let Andrew’s friend do the dirty work?”  
“No, he’s a cop, so snooping around a film studio might not be good for his career.”  
“Since when are you friends with a cop?” Aaron frowned, Neil thought that was weird. Why would Aaron of all people not know anything about Andrew’s past?   
“Since before I knew you,” Andrew replied, too busy looking up something on his phone. Neil was about to ask what the fuck that meant but held back instead. Aaron just sighed.  
“And what do I say to my Dad?”  
“Um, nothing? Obviously?” Neil said, giving Kevin a look. “I’m not too sure he’d be on board with this plan.” He finished. Kevin let out a panicked laugh.  
“Strangely enough, Neil, neither am I!” He threw his hands up. “What if you get caught?! You can’t get out of that one.”  
“I know! But, if Riko is the one sabotaging you, threatening us both and causing all this trouble, we need evidence in order to persuade other people!” Neil shot back.  
“Why wouldn’t they believe us now?”  
“Why would anyone believe us? Riko Moriyama? His family would just get rid of us.”  
“They can’t do that.” Aaron scoffed. Kevin cleared his throat.  
“They can Aar’ believe me. It’ll look like an accident. If people wrong them in any way, they can make anyone disappear. We once knew a guy,”  
“Fuck.” Neil sighed.   
Seth Gordon had been an upcoming actor. He was snatched up by the Moriyamas but soon realised what kind of contact he was involved in. He began speaking out, telling the media about the cult-like goings-on. The Moriyama's claimed Seth was delusional and not even a week later he was found dead in his trailer. Overdose. _Apparently_.   
  
Kevin relayed the story to the twins. Aaron looked shocked whereas Andrew gave nothing away with his deadpan expression.   
“What about your father.” Andrew nudged his chin towards Neil. “Will he be a problem?” Neil huffed.  
“My father is always a problem…” He mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. “My father is sent to recruit and threaten people who don’t pay the Moriyama’s. I’m pretty sure that by leaving I caused a lot of problems for him but I don’t regret it. I just wanna know if my mom is ok. She’s the reason I got out. As for him being a problem when we go on our little mission? I highly doubt it. He doesn’t exactly make a show of hanging around with the people he does dodgy transactions with.”  
“Do you think he’s involved in shadier stuff?”   
“He’s one of their hitmen so I’m gonna assume so,” Neil said, casually and Aaron choked on air.  
“Hitman?!”  
“Well, unofficially but I’ve seen ‘sports bags’ that look suspiciously like body bags so, y’know.” he shrugged.  
“Jesus…” Aaron mumbled. “Did you know anything about this Kevin?”  
“Christ, no, from the way Riko talked when we were friends I just assumed they were carrying around drugs not fucking bodies!”  
“Oh because drugs are such a big step up?”  
“Oh come on, drugs are everywhere in Hollywood.” Kevin brushed Aaron off who appeared even more scandalised than before.   
“This is far beyond us, this is some fucking mafia shit! We need the fucking FBI!” Aaron fumed.  
“Uh-huh and what? Tell them we have no evidence and limited leads? Don’t forget that it’d be our word against a huge film company. They’ll just think Neil is trying to get back at his family.” Andrew said, folding his arms. “So, we break into the studios, find some proof that connects Riko to the break-in at Neil’s apartment, Kevin's injuries, and the threats. If he’s smart enough to get rid of the evidence, we’ll have to go for the bigger fish. Find proof of dodgy financial records.”  
“Wow...that’s, actually really smart Andrew.” Kevin praised but Andrew just shrugged.”   
“Eh, whatever.”  
“Is Wymack still looking into the number that called me?” Neil asked Andrew.  
“I assume so, why?”  
“We’ll check for burner phone while we’re there.”  
“Good idea,” Andrew said to him, his lips twitching into a smile. “Now we've just gotta plan the damn thing.”  
“Ok, so we’re actually doing this,” Aaron muttered  
“We don’t tell anyone. We don’t need anyone else getting involved and putting themselves in danger. That means no Wymack. We’ll never get the ok if we ask him.” Andrew stated, firmly. The others nodded in agreement. “My contact will look into the raven feathers, see if any others have been reported in any significant murders or, whatever.”  
“And what happens if…” Kevin trailed off, looking into his lap. “What happens if something goes wrong?”  
“We deal with it as it comes, but I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Neil said, confidently.  
“We can meet back here again in a couple of days to work out the details. Right now, I need to sleep.” Kevin admitted and Aaron nodded in agreement. Neil looked over at Andrew who, to be fair, looked quite sleepy too.  
“Ok, yeah, sounds good.”  
  


Neil showed Kevin and Aaron out, hugging Kevin before he left. Andrew had collapsed on the couch by the time Neil came back into the living room.   
“You’re brother is…” he gestured vaguely with his hands, trying to find the right words but Andrew filled in the blanks for him.  
“A dick?”   
“Well…”   
“I know.” Andrew sighed. Neil was so close to asking about the history of the two twins but decided to leave Andrew be. He’d seen him take his hearing aid out and was gingerly rubbing at his ear. Neil frowned.   
“Does it bother you?” he asked. Andrew caught on to what he was talking about straight away.   
“Sometimes it aches, sometimes I hear this awful high pitched noise.”   
“That must suck, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

“I put a warm cloth on it to help the aching usually.”

“Ok, I’ll be back in a sec,” Neil told him. He snagged a washcloth from his bathroom, ran it under warm water, and rung it out. He folded it neatly and headed back into the living room. He sat down next to Andrew, lifted his hand but stopped just short of touching. “Is it ok if I put it on your ear?” He asked, Andrew raised a brow.  
I can do it myself.”  
“It’ll help you relax~” he sing-songed and Andrew sighed in resignation.  
“Go for it.” He said and Neil gently touched the cloth to Andrew’s ear. He sighed gently and Neil smiled.  
“Nice?”  
“Shut up.” came the reply but Andrew was so relaxed it came out as a satisfied sigh rather than a rude remark. “Tired,” Andrew muttered, voice slurring slightly. Neil awwed at him and received a death glare. He handed Andrew the washcloth and stood up.  
“Come on, let’s head to bed.”  
“Sounds good to me.” The cats came barrelling into the room suddenly, chasing each other around.  
“They’re so cute.”  
“They’re pests.”  
“You love them really.”  
“Maybe,” Andrew muttered. They trudged into their shared room and collapsed on the beds. Andrew's face was smushed into the pillow and Neil laughed at him, gently.  
"Good night Andrew. Sleep well."  
"Night Neil, same to you." and with that, Neil was engulfed by sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you enjoyed that! The next chapter won't take as long as this one did don't worry!  
> As I said, Fox and Friends will be updated in the next couple of days and a new fic will be appearing soon too!  
> Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and what you think is gonna happen next ;)  
> Thanks for reading!  
> (Also the title and the nickname 'Danny Ocean' are all references to the Ocean's Films which are amazing heist movies, definitely check them out!)

**Author's Note:**

> well, I hope you enjoyed! this should be updated, along with my other multichapter fic, every week or two :) please be patient hehehe  
> Thank you for reading <3  
> I hope you continue to enjoy my work!


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